One method of cooking salmon is to roast it in the oven, flavored with some very aromatic seasonings. This salmon dish comes from Naz Deravian’s cookbook “Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories” (2018). I love this cookbook as she has lots of stories to tell beginning when she was 8 and her family left Iran during the Iranian Revolution.
Serve with sheveed polo (Iranian dill rice) – not possible for me as I needed a few cups of fresh dill which I didn’t have. Dill is a common herb in Persian cuisine. By all means if you have access to this much dill make an authentic dill rice.
I made a rice pilaf by the author instead which I found on NYT Cooking and not in her cookbook. After reading comments it was recommended to use pomegranate molasses (another common ingredient in Persia/Iran) instead of the maple syrup – I certainly agree! I’m not sure why Naz did not use it. At the time I was out of that delicious ingredient so please use if you have it.
NOTE – March 26: I looked at the recipe again and Naz’s stepmother provided this recipe which is a combination of Japanese and Iranian ingredients. Explains the use of soy sauce and using maple syrup instead of pomegranate molasses!
In case you’re confused Persia is the historical name for the area that is now known as Iran (since 1935).
Roasted Dill Salmon
Recipe by Naz Deravian, Adapted by Judi Graber
- 1-1/2 pound, skin on, center-cut salmon fillet
- 1-1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper (I used 4 pepper)
Marinade:
- 1/4 cup lime juice or Seville orange juice, plus additional wedges for serving
- 2 tbsp. EVOO
- 2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup (pomegranate molasses preferred)
- 3 tbsp. fresh dill (recommended) or 1 tbsp. dried
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
- 1/8 tsp. ground saffron (optional – I used)
Garnish with dill pollen and a sprig of fresh dill.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees and keep the rack in the center position. Use a dish that fits the salmon as snugly as possible and line it with parchment paper. You want to avoid the juices dispersing and burning. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
Combine all of the marinade ingredients and marinate the salmon for 15 minutes or so, flesh down in the pan with marinade.
Roast the salmon skin-side down until cooked through to your taste. I roasted it for 25-30 minutes – I like my fish cooked but cook it to your taste! Serve with extra lime or orange wedges and drizzle the pan juices over the salmon. I added a fresh dill sprig and also sprinkled with dill pollen. I served it with Rice Pilaf Persian Style and a side of broccoli.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
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I have a salmon-dill dish that I make often, so I know I’ll enjoy this one as well. I really like the addition of saffron. 🙂
Salmon and dill are great partners. I buy good threads and grind the saffron myself – always a nice addition 🙂
This must be a rather new and possibly more American version of the dish as in more than half a century of cooking (and have always appreciated Persian cooking!) I have never seen soy sauce as an ingredient and doubt such was known there 🙂 ? Altho’ I’m originally from the Baltics and thus use dill all the time, the amount here ‘bothers’ me as the herb has such a strong taste? But it is a wondrous dish 🙂 !
Reading the intro to the recipe this is a dish from Naz’s stepmother who combines her Japanese love of seafood with Iranian ingredients. Funny, both soy sauce and maple syrup (which I questioned) are not in Persian cuisine. This is mentioned in my post. I doubt if any cookbook can be totally authentic especially among families, areas and often brings a fusion of flavors. The dill is the correct amount and is a guideline – one must adjust to your taste as most cooks do 🙂
Our friends from Iran definitely call themselves Persians! I love salmon and i love to bake it. And i love pomegranate molasses. It is easy to make your own too, which i did a few years back. This sounds great!
Thanks Sherry! I have friends living in London who go by Iranians – never heard a comment about Persia. I should try and make my own molasses as I do love the flavor.